Blockchain: The Future of Education and the World of Work

Bitrazzi explains how the usability of blockchain is the perfect match for the educational system

As blockchain technology infiltrates most worldwide industries in 2018, we take a look at two examples of companies who are leveraging the technology in order to improve the education system and beyond.

Be who you Say you Are

This is the age-old problem. People are overly prone to embellishing, mis-remembering and lying on their CVs. It’s difficult, time-consuming and costly to verify every applicant’s credentials before hiring, and the system of referencing itself can be falsified anyway. Educational fraud is also a huge market – falsified degree certificates and qualifications have led to thousands of unqualified individuals taking up positions they don’t deserve – or, in the case of medics, it is dangerous for them to have.

One startup, Credly, is tackling this head on. Through a blockchain ledger of credentials that are digitally verified, a person can finally sell themselves to a prospective employer who is 100% certain that they are who they say they are. You can store your verified educational certificates with your digital credential identity, along with the necessary personal ID information and references. You then control your data (one of the most appealing features of blockchain) and release what the prospective employer needs. No agencies, no lengthy reference checking process, immediate hire and issuing of start dates. Everybody wins.

The other facet to this is that you can finally ensure the appropriate acknowledgement for the extra-curricular certificated activities in which you have participated. With verification, online courses or external diplomas can be verified and finally contribute to your CV in a way that they currently don’t. This will give a lot more opportunities to people who didn’t, or couldn’t go to university, for example. This is a levelling of the playing field that’s long overdue.

Greater Access to Extra-curricular Education

And you can start to build up a more impressive set of credentials more easily, through greater access to courses and the education professionals that provide them. Another startup, Ntok, is using a blockchain and tokenized system to allow people to market their courses and talents, and allow people looking for extra educational opportunities to locate and pay for ones that have been verified and can be trusted. This will inevitably lead to a greater talent pool, with a wider diversity of qualifications being awarded and recognized.

And it Doesn’t Stop There…

These are, of course, not the only educational applications for blockchain tech. Elsewhere, blockchain-based voting systems are set to be employed in higher education to ensure a wider coverage of the voter base with no rigging. Who knows what else will be implemented in the next 12 months and beyond!